Without a doubt, migrating to Windows 10 brings some security benefits that many businesses will appreciate. For one thing, Windows 7 is far more likely to be targeted by a ransomware attack, according to Microsoft; past data provided by the company has shown that Windows 7 devices are 3.4 times more likely to be hit by ransomware than Windows 10 devices. "Attackers are targeting Windows 7," wrote Tanmay Ganacharya, principal group manager for Windows Defender Research, in a blog post. "Given today’s modern threats, older platforms can be infiltrated more easily because these platforms don’t have the advanced built-in end-to-end defense stack available on Windows 10."

Other security enhancements available in Windows 10, but not in Windows 7, include Windows Hello facial recognition for authentication; two-factor authentication via Microsoft Passport; and Windows Defender Credential Guard to ensure that only privileged system software can access credentials.